Coral Gables, Fla. — Dajuan Coleman, facing Tuesday surgery to repair his left knee, traveled with his Syracuse team to Miami this weekend.

The sophomore forward/center said he decided to have surgery after numerous attempts to repair the damage by other means did not work. In a brief conversation in the bowels of the BankUnited Center after Syracuse defeated Miami, Coleman said his physical health going forward outweighed his other options.

"I think it's a great decision on my part just to get healthy," Coleman said. "Even though I'm going to miss (the rest of the season), I'm going to be healthy afterward. It's a process."

The surgery will be Coleman's second in his two seasons at Syracuse. Doctors repaired the meniscus in his left knee last season, though that procedure did not erase the rest of the year for the Jamesville-DeWitt product.

Coleman acknowledged the two-year turn of events was disappointing.

"But you can't really think negative about it," he said. "You just gotta keep it positive."

Dr. Bradley Raphael, who will perform the surgery, said last week that he and the SU medical staff will have a better understanding of Coleman's prognosis after the procedure is completed.